-- For generations, Sunday morning for Catholics in northern New Jersey began with a mad rush for a seat at Sacred Heart Church.

“If you didn’t get in early, you were going to have to stand,” said Bob Madara, who joined the parish in 1971. “There were even masses in the cafeteria to handle the overflow. It was just huge.”

Built in 1929, the cavernous structure had long anchored the city’s bustling Vailsburg neighborhood. For a time, it was also a linchpin of city and state politics, providing a base for the Giblin and Cryan families and former Chief Justice James Zazzali.

But now, faced with changing demographics and expensive repairs, the Newark Archdiocese will close the church July 1. Worshippers will be directed to Saint Joseph’s in East Orange instead.

John Munson/The Star-LedgerKen Ogali, sacristan at Sacred Heart Church Vailsburg, stands in a hallway used during services by the altar servers. He discovered the ceiling had partially collapsed, so the area is now closed.

Although more than 100 parishes have been asked to close in New Jersey during the past six years, the Sacred Heart episode has been particularly bitter for remaining parishioners. They have hurled insults at church officials for making crucial decisions behind closed doors and for not making enough of an effort to save a cherished Catholic landmark.

“A capital campaign could have been mounted by the people who really love the church, up and down the Shore and in west Jersey,” said Myles Varley, 68, a former Sacred Heart pastor. “They could have been creative.”

Jim Goodness, spokesman for the archdiocese, said the process could have been handled better, but grim statistics left church officials with no other choice.

Between 1990 and 2009, the number of registered parishioners at Sacred Heart fell to 160 from a,100. Meanwhile, the concrete building has slowly started to crumble, needing $700,000 in repairs, Goodness said.

“The roof is leaking terribly and side parts of the building are beginning to show signs of falling down,” he said. “The diocese put $2 to 2.5 million in direct support of that parish, and we’re not in the position to do that anymore.”

The church's financial prognosis grew worse last year, when its grammar school closed. The building was then leased as a charter school to the North Star Academy.
Parishioners hoped the rental revenue, which Goodness estimated as "several millions of dollars," could save the church.

“There was a strong belief the monies could be used to keep the church going for five more years,” said Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union), a longtime parishioner.

At least $1.5 million of leasing revenue will be given to Saint Joseph’s to help the new community, Goodness said. A final decision on what will be done with the Sacred Heart church building, modeled in classic Italian Renaissance style, has not been made, he said.

Paul Reilly Sr., a former deputy mayor of Newark who was baptized at Sacred Heart in 1933, said he knows people who want to keep parts of the church as keepsakes of a bygone era.

“All those urns — they were shipped right over from Italy,” he said. “You can’t buy things like those today.”

John Munson/The Star-LedgerWater damage is evident high up the walls of Sacred Heart Church Vailsburg.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.